Gold-amalgamator



W. BALL.

Ore Amalgamator.

No. 8,344. Patented Sept. 9. 1851.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WM. BALL, OF OHIGOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS.

GOLD-AMALGAMATOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 8,3445 dated September9, 1851; Reissued August 8, 1854, No. 274.

To all whom may concern Be it known that I, IVILLIAM BALL, of

Chicopee, in the county of I-Iampden and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Mechanism for Separating Goldfrom the Ore by Amalgamation; and I do hereby declare that the same isrfully described and represented in the following specification andaccompanying drawings, letters, gures, and references thereof.

Of the said drawings Figure 1, denotes a top view of my improvedmachine. Fig. 2, is a central, vertical, and longitudinal section of it.Fig. 8, is an end elevat-ion, and Fig. 4L, a side elevation of the same.

In the said drawings, A, represents the framework for supporting theoperative parts of the machine. B, is a spout, or conducting trough,which is made to receive a current of washed gravel, auriferous ore, andwater, either from a washing apparatus, or a stamp mill. In my machine,it is customary for me to employ a fan pump or blower, to elevate suchstream of ore and water into said trough, so as to enable me to use theamalgamating apparatus, on the same floor or level, with the washingapparatus. The outer casing of said pump, is represented at C, in thedrawings, the conducting pipe therefrom being seen at D, as extendingupward, and discharging directly int-o the trough before described.VVit-hin this casing a fan wheel E, like that of an ordinary fan bloweror blastapparatus is placed, and made to rotate'with sufficient velocityto elevate the liquid which is received through the centerI of its case.The said fan wheel is rotated, by means of an endless band I-I, whichnot only passes around the pulley I, on the shaft K, of the said fanwheel, but also around a driving pulley L, fixed on a driving shaft M.This fan wheel `pump apparatus however, forms no part of my invention,but is only a matter of convenience to enable me to use said inventionon the same floor with other machinery as specified.

Fig. 5, represents a view of t-he lower side of the discharging end ofthe receiving trough B, while Fig. 6, is a transverse section of thesame. The water in passing out of said trough, is discharged throughthree orifices, a, b, c, the two outer ones having such an inclinationgiven to them, as will l cause the water to be thrown directly againstthe vertical perforated side CZ, d, of the upper revolving anddistributing reservoir or vessel 0, which vessel or reservoir is fixedupon a vertical tubular shaft P, which works upon and around t-he mainverticalshaft Q, of the machine. The reservoir or vessel 0, has itssides perforated with holes, and is surrounded by a concentric channelR, R, whose upper edge is arranged somewhat below the upper edge of thevessel O, as seen in the drawings, and whose bottom is punct-ured with aseries of holes e, c, &c. This vessel is put in rapid revolution, bymeans of an endless band f, which works around a pulley g, on its shaft,and another pulley L, on the main driving shaft. From the underside ofthe trough R, and within the circlev of its discharging holes e, e, Iextend downward, in manner as shown in the drawings, a fiaring partitionor hollow conic frustum S, which is intended to dip into the water,contained in the lower vibrating distributing reservoir, to behereinafter described. The said reservoir consists of a circular vesselo1' receiver T, which is affixed to the vertical shaft Q, supported inbearings as seen at U. V. The bottom of this reservoir T, declinestoward a series of holes made through it, and in the circumference of acircle, concentric with the sides of the vessel, two ofA such holesbeing seen at z', t', in Fig. 2, which figure also exhibits the mannerin which the bottom of said vessel declines toward such holes. The saidseries of holes, arranged in a circle, open into a mercury bath IV, W',which extends underneath the holes, and concentrically around the mainshaft, and has its bottom made with an inclination upward, as seen inFig. 2. Another and secondary mercury bath, is shown at X, X, as placedunder the bottom of the first mentioned mercury bath, and concentricallyaround the main shaft, and so that it-s bottom shall have an inclinationupward, in a direction opposite to that of the bottom of the first bath,lthe vertical section of said bath, being represented by the drawing.Its inner boundary is a small upright ledge or wall 7c, over which thewaste matter from the bath flows, and is received into a circular troughZ, "Z, which extends concentrically` around the main shaft, and servesto conduct the waste to a single discharging orifice m, made through it.Each mercury bath is provided with a tap screw, or other propercont-rivance n, or 0, for drawing o its contents when necessary.

The lower part of the main shaft Q, is made hollow or tubular, for somedistance up from its bottom, and for a short distance just above thebottom of the vessel T, the said shaft is increased in diameter or sizeas seen atl p, and is made to have several openings g, made through it,so as to communicate, with the interior of the Vessel T, and t-o allowwater therein to fio-w down through such openings, into the tubular partof the shaft, and ont at its lower end.

A tubular gate or ferrule 1', is made to lit upon the large part p, ofthe main shaft, and

- to rise and fall freely in a vertical direction thereon. It has threeor any other suitable number of rods s, s, extended down from it, andthrough any of the orifices made in the said enlarged part of the shaft.They also extend through the tubular part of the shaft and arey unitedat their lower ends, to the head of a screw t, as seen in the drawing.The said screw t, passes through one end of a bent lever u, and has anut @,fscrewed upon it. The said lever is arranged, and has its fulcrumat fw, as seen in the drawings. By turning the lever on its fulcrum, thecircular ferrule or gate may be raised or lowered, as occasion mayrequire.

I would remark, that to one of the external or lateral orifices ofdischarge of the receiving spout B, I apply a sliding plate or gate az,in such manner as to enable me to readily diminish said orifice, inorder to regulate the iowage of water out of it, and thus regulate theamount of water discharged into the reservoir o. The lower vessel T, andthe mercury bath attached to it, are together to have a reciprocating,or vibratory circular motion imparted to them, which motion may beproduced by two cranks Y, Y, fixed upon a secondary shaft and standingin opposite directions therefrom. To each of these cranks one end of aconnecting rod .c or a', isjointed, the opposite end of said connectingrod being suitably jointed to an ear b, extended from any suitab-le partof the vibrating vessel.

On the nineteenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred andforty-nine, Letters Patentof the United States, numbered 6535, weregranted to me for a new and useful machine for separat-ing gold from theore or extraneous matters, by means of mercury and partially covered asseen at a4, a4, Fig. 2, the cover during its vibratory motion serving tofacilitate the union of the particles of gold and mercury. Such anarrangement and lapplication of the mercury bath, enables it whenagitated with a short vibratory motion, to operate to much betteradvantage on the ore, than it does when arranged at the central part ofthe machine, as in my machine heretofore patented. Besides this by usingthe distribution reservoir O, and its ring R, to which a constantcontinued rotary motion is given, the mixture of liquid and ore is notonly separated from chips and much other extraneous matters, which arealways more or less commingled with it, but it is discharged from thering or trough R, R, in numerous jets or streams, whereby it is thrownand properly distributed into the water of the reservoir'T, T; that isequally distributed over its line or circle of discharging orifices, orthose connecting the vessel T, with the main mercury bath.

rArs it is desirable to maintain a head of water within the vessel T,suiicient to cause the currents discharged through its bottom, to passthrough the ring of mercury in the mercury bath, I make use of theregulating ferrule or gate, which was before described as applied to thecenter shaft of the said vessel T. As the surplus water is dischargedover the top of said ferrule, and down through the hollow shaft, it willbe evident that by means of said ferrule we can regulate the depth ofwater within the vessel T, for by raising the ferrule we increase thedepth in said vessel, and by lowering it we decrease the same.

By making stationary the spout or contrivance which conveys'the water,or discharges it in streams, upon the screen of the distributer, and atthe same time making such screen to rotate, and to stand vertically theore is much better washed, and separated from extraneous matters, andthe perforations of the screen are much less liable to be choked, thanwhen the screen, (arranged horizontally) and the contrivance whichdischarges water upon it, are simultaneously moved together, with ashort vibratory movement, such being the arrangement and operation ofthe parts in my machine as heretofore patented.

That I claim therefore as my invention is as follows:

l. I claim the combination of the partition S (dipping below the surfaceof the water) with the lower distributers provided at the center with adischarge aperture for the water and light particles and at theperiphery with apertures for the discharge of the water and heavierparticles; for the purpose of preventing the escape of gold, over thecentral or waste pipe.

2. I also claim the arrangement of the sliding tube ferrule or wastegate, directly upon the hollow axle of the lower distributer T, the samebeing for the purpose of regulating the head of water within the saiddistributer.

3. I am aware that it is not unusualin gold washers to use a successionof baths; therefore I do not claim such arrangement in general, but Ialso claim arranging the i0 secondary mercury bath concentric with andbelow the primary one in such a manner that the currents of water, etcetera, return toward the center of the apparatus, thereby saving roomand causing the said currents to pass more slowly. 15

In testimony whereof I have hereto set my signature this second day ofJuly 1851 VWM. BALL.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS GOULD, JOHN NOBLE.

[FIRST PRINTED 1913.]

